Setting Up Your Hosting Account

In order for your website to appear on the web, it has to be hosted somewhere. Think of hosting like a storage facility. Itâ€™s a place for you to store all of your stuff (your website) on the web. The more stuff you have (the bigger your site) the more storage space you need.

There are many web hosting companies. It is essential that you work with one that is â€œWordPress friendlyâ€. This isnâ€™t an official designation, of course, just something weâ€™ve learned to look for over the years.

HostGator is the preferred hosting platform of iThemes and WebDesign.com. We recommend them because of their ease-of-use, pricing, and WordPress hosting capabilities. All of these make them an idea host for WordPress sites.

And, if you use the coupon code BACKUPBUDDY when you sign up for hosting at Hostgator, you can save 25% off your first order.

Hostgator runs different discounts at different times of the year, but generally speaking, you will get the best prices when you sign up for a full year or multiple years at a time vs. signing up for the monthly plan. The choice is completely yours. If you know youâ€™re starting a business and are in it for the long haul, then save a little cash by signing up for a longer time period.

If you already have a domain name, perhaps one you registered at GoDaddy.com, enter it on the right side of the page. If you are just now registering your domain name, enter it on the left side, and remember to select whether you want it to end in .com, .net, etc.

Click â€œContinue to Step 2â€ where you will be asked to enter your billing information. Remember to select your billing cycle to get the amount of savings you want. Once you have filled in all the information, including a unique password, click â€œCreate Accountâ€ and you are on your way.

Hostgator will send you an email with all the information you need for getting started with your brand new WordPress-friendly hosting account.